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ORATION 



BY JAMES B. M. POTTER 



OIUTION 



DELIVERED AT KINGSTON, R. I. 



JULY 4, 1843 . 



BY JAMES B. M. POTTER. 



BOSTON: . 
THOMAS H. WEBB &, CO 

1844. 



The following Oration was delivered at Kingston, July 4th, 1843, 
at the request of the citizens of South-Kingstown. It is published not 
for its intrinsic merits, but as a memento of the day and its celebration. 



ORATION. 



We have assembled to celebrate the birth-day of 
our national existence — to render thanks to Almighty 
God who crowned with success the ever memorable 
struggle of our ancestors for independence. — and to 
kindle anew our love of liberty by contemplating the 
virtue, the wisdom, and the heroic deeds of the men 
of '76. 

The moral grandeur of the event we celebrate 
surpasses, that of any other recorded in history. It 
was the first public declaration, by a nation, of the 
true principles of government, and its influence was 
to be coextensive with the world. France, Greece, 
Ireland, Poland, and South America have, through 
seas of blood, attempted to follow the glorious exam- 
ple of America. The anniversary of our independ- 
ence is commemorated, not by the sons of America 
alone, but by the friends of freedom in every clime, 
in Europe, and in the distant isles of the Pacific. 

The successful embodiment of those principles in 
a republican constitution and form of government, 
affording a practical illustration of man's capacity for 



self-government, sounded the death knell of arbitrary 
power, — of the doctrines of divine right and passive 
obedience, under whose baneful influence the ener- 
gies and hopes of mankind had been, hitherto, crush- 
ed. The hereditary tyrants of Europe saw the hand 
upon the wall and trembled ; wdiile to the down trod- 
den people it was as the voice of God proclaiming 
that hope still remained. A new era was ushered 
in ; a new nation sprung into existence ; which, un- 
der God, was to be a j^illar of fire to conduct the chil- 
dren of men to the promised land of freedom. 

From the first, the war of the American Revolution 
w'as a war of principle— of right against might. In 
this respect it nobly contrasted with the wars that 
had, for centuries, devastated Europe and Asia, where 
the lives, the happiness, and the property of mankind 
were sacrificed in the contests for supremacy of rival 
princes, or of religious sects. 

But the war of the Revolution was not, at first, a 
contest for independence. Bound to the mother land 
by the ties of parental affection, community of thought 
and language ; sharers in the glory of her brilliant 
achievements and her great men; inheriting that 
stern Saxon love of liberty that had taken arms 
against the encroachments of royalty at Runny- 
mead, at Marston Moor, and in the revolution of 
1688 ; a redress of grievances was the first and only 
object of our ancestors, which time, circumstances, 
and the despotic counsels of England dignified into 
a war of entire separation, compelling them to hold 
the British, as they did other nations, "enemies in 
war, in peace friends." In return for her protection 



from foreign foes, the colonies yielded to England 
the entire monopoly of their trade, and annually 
pom-ed millions into her treasury. If the statesmen 
of England had pursued a course which policy and 
an enlightened self-interest, as well as the great prin- 
ciples of right and justice dictated ; if the warning- 
voice of Burke, Conway, and Chatham had been 
heeded, we might, this day, have been colonies, in- 
stead of occupying the proud rank of a sovereign 
nation, second to none in civilization and influence. 
But fortunately perhaps for us, for the cause of civil 
and religious liberty, for humanity, a nobler destiny 
awaited us. 

Tlie English cabinet determined to tax America 
without her consent. Eor twelve years the colonics re- 
monstrated and petitioned against the haughty claims 
of the mother country. These were treated with 
scorn and contempt, and in the language of despot- 
ism they were commanded to submit. The colonies 
claimed the rights of Englishmen, guarantied by the 
Great Charter, sanctioned by the usages of centuries, 
and vindicated by the blood, of the martyrs of Smith- 
field, of Hampden, of Sydney, and of Russell. There 
was no want of ability to pay the paltry tax upon 
tea ; but the principle at issue was all important to 
the welfare and the liberties of the colonies. The 
same hatred of wrong which urged John Hampden, 
the defender of English liberty in the seventeenth 
century, and a man of large property, to refuse pay- 
ment of the odious ship money of twenty shillings, 
animated his descendants, in the eighteenth centurv, 
to resist the three penny tax upon tea. The impo- 



8 

sition of the one, cost Charles the First his throne 
and his head ; the forced exaction of the other, cost 
George the Third his colonies, and the sacrifice of 
an hundred thousand lives. 

The destruction of the tea in Boston harbor, and 
the public bonHre of it in the town of Providence, 
convinced England that a repeal of the tax, or war, 
was the only alternative. National pride declared 
for the latter ; the voice of justice and mercy urged 
the former ; but when has their voice controlled the 
councils of England when opposed by interest and 
lust of power ? Ireland, insulted and bleeding Ire- 
land — India, the victim of sordid avarice and cruelty 
— China, inoffensive and unoffending China — answer, 
never, never. 

The colonies saw that either submission or war 
was inevitable ; and in the bold language of Patrick 
Henry they exclaimed, " let it come — let it come." 
The more than Roman fortitude, the hatred of tyran- 
ny, and the moral courage of our ancestors, stand forth 
in bold relief when we consider the fearful odds they 
had to contend with. 

Not much more than a century and a half had 
elapsed, since the Pilgrims landed from the May- 
flower upon the wild and bleak shores of New Eng- 
land. In addition to the usual difficulties attending 
the settlement of a new country, other causes had 
prevented the rapid development of its resources and 
the increase of population. The wronged and re- 
vengeful Indians threatened the colonies with exter- 
mination. Agriculture, commerce and trade had 
languished during the old French war, in which the 



9 

colonies contributed generously of Loth men and 
treasure. From New Hampshire to Georgia, a long 
extent of sea-coast, dotted with flourishing villages 
and towns, was exposed to the attacks of the enemy. 
The possession of the Canadas gave them advanta- 
ges oti the north, while on the west powerful tribes 
of Indians, stimulated by a recollection of their 
wrongs, seized the tomahawk and raised the war- 
whoop in the service of England ; nor did she scru- 
ple to employ those savage allies, in contravention 
of all the rules of civilized warfare. This country 
was to be the seat of war, and her industry was to 
be taxed for the support of both of the contending 
armies. Thirteen separate states, comprising in all 
but about three millions of human beings, were scat- 
tered over a large extent of territory, without means 
of convenient communication, or as yet any common 
bond of union. There was then no steam power to 
carry assistance, almost with the rapidity of light- 
ning, to the point threatened with attack. The col- 
onies had no general government, no standing army, 
no navy, no munitions of war, no revenue, no credit, 
no foreign trade or alliances ; in fact, no adequate 
preparation for war, excepting an indomitable will 
and an unyielding love of liberty that preferred death 
to slavery. 

On the other hand, England was at peace with the 
world. Vast armies and countless millions of treas- 
ure v/ero at her disposal. Art, science, agriculture 
and commerce, had for many centuries been contrib- 
uting to her wealth and her power. Flushed with 
victory over her ancient enemy, France, from whom 
2 



10 

she had just wrested the Canadas, she possessed an 
anny composed of veterans of a hundred battles, 
under the most brave and experienced leaders. Ac- 
knowledged as mistress of the ocean, she was aspir- 
ing, under the most auspicious circumstances, to the 
dominion of tiie world. Her past and present glory 
foretold that the future would be no less glorious. 

The contest of America with England resembled, 
in the eyes of the world, the combat of David with 
the giant Goliath ; and the issue was no less remarka- 
ble ; for, thank God, the victory is not always to the 
strong, nor the race to the swift. We cannot fail 
to recognize the hand of Providence, in the whole 
history of this country, from its discovery by Colum- 
bus and its settlement by the Puritans from England, 
until the last act in the drama was finished by the 
establishment of civil, political, and religious free- 
dom. 

The war commenced, and the first blow was 
struck, and the fust blood was shed in the waters 
of Narraganset Bay, by Rhode-Island men. The 
bold and intrepid capture of the Gaspee proclaimed 
where Rhode Island stood ; and never, during the 
war, did her sons tarnish the glory of that achieve- 
ment. The battles of Lexington, Concord, and 
Bunker Hill shut out all hopes of peace, and taught 
our forefathers that the well trained legions of Great 
Britain, were not invincible. A wonderful change 
was produced in the public mind, which was soon 
to give a new character to the contest. Separation 
from the mother country and national independence 
became the theme of general conversation. Some 



11 

were too timid to sanction this important movement; 
others carried their opposition to it so far as to assist 
the enemies of their country. But its advocates 
were the master minds of the age, — the Adamses, 
Quincy, Jefferson, and Patrick Henry, — names en- 
graved upon the tablets of the nation's memory. 
On the 4th July, 1776, the immortal Declaration of 
Independence was publicly proclaimed, and the union 
of America and England was severed forever. As the 
governors had been appointed by the crown in many 
of the states, the same Congress recommended to 
them the establishment of republican governments, 
and the ratification of the articles of confederation. 
Connecticut and Rhode Island, in which the people 
had always elected their officers, alone retained their 
old charters, deemed sufficiently democratic by the 
men who fought, bled and died for freedom. 

The war assumed a new importance and dignity. 
The desire to establish a free and representative 
government on this side the Atlantic, inspired the 
patriot soldier with new hopes and fresh courage, 
and gave new energy to the councils of the rulers. 
Am.erica was to be the battle field of the antagonist 
principles of freedom and arbitrary power. On the 
one side were freedom and national independence ; 
on the other colonial dependence and abject slavery. 
For the support of this declaration, our ancestors, 
appealing to God for the rectitude of their inten- 
tions, mutually pledged their lives, their fortunes, 
and their sacred honor, in all human probability 
the fate of Leonidas and his brave band awaited 
them ; but, like the patriotic Greeks, they were re- 



12 

solved to maintain their independence, or die in the 
attempt. To them 

"A (lay, an hour of virtuous liberty- 
Was worth a whole eternity of bondage." 

Aside from tlie glorious and elevating principles 
of the Declaration, it was a master stroke of human 
policy and wisdom, and is a solid monument of the 
comprehensive views, and the thorough knowledge 
possessed by our ancestors, of the ruling passions 
that control nations as well as individuals. They 
knew that it was impossible to contend success- 
fully, single handed, against the colossal power of 
Great Britian, and sought to interest the nations of 
Europe in the result of the war. They knew that 
England's domineering supremacy had raised up 
many enemies who would exult in her humiliation. 
By publicly proclaiming their intention to be inde- 
pendent, and taking measures to insure success, they 
presented an opportunity to the enemies of England 
to humble her pride, by aiding to dismember her 
possessions. By opening their markets to the Avorld, 
they appealed to the interest of all the commercial 
nations of Europe, to assist them in becoming inde- 
pendent. Nor does it detract from the merit and 
glory of our ancestors, that they calculated u|)on the 
assistance of the worst passions that sway the hu- 
man heart, and are so generally injurious and demor- 
alizing in their effect. Time alone could test the 
wisdom of the experiment, and self-defence prompt- 
ed them to use the power that nature and nature's 
God had placed at their disposal. 



13 

Again, the proud daring of this young people, the 
sublimity and grandeur of their position, and the ut- 
ter inequality of the contest, were calculated to en- 
list the sympathies of the chivalrous spirits of Eu- 
rope. La Fayette braved the wrath of his sovereign, 
and left family, home, and high hopes of distinction, 
to fight under the banner of freedom, side by side 
with Washington. Kosciusko, too, followed free- 
dom in her flight to America from the blood stained 
plains of unhappy Poland. A gallant host, whose 
names are not unknown to history, espoused the 
holv and righteous cause of America. 

The wonderful spectacle was presented, of one of 
the most despotic governments in the world assisting 
to establish a republican government and the suprem- 
acy of liberal principles. Regardless of the ultimate 
consequences to herself, France, the natural enemy 
of England, burning with resentment at the loss of 
the Canadas, hailed with joy the declaration of inde- 
pendence. In the past, defeat and disgrace had at- 
tended her efforts to cope with English valor, and the 
memory of Agincourt and Cressy gave new strength 
to her resolution to aid America and weaken the 
power of Great Britain. She acknowledged the in- 
dependence of America and resolved to support it. 
A treaty was formed ; and neither was to make peace 
with England without the consent of the other. 
England immediately declared war against France. 
Whatever were the motives that actuated France, 
America owes her an eternal debt of gratitude for 
her timely assistance. It was offered when the for- 
tunes of the Americans were at the lowest ebb. 



14 

Treason was busy in the camp and in the council 
chamber ; disaffection was increasing ; victory had 
deserted our standard ; and the army, dispirited by 
defeat, were suffering all the severities of an inclem- 
ent winter, poorly armed and worse fed, poorly clad 
and destitute of tents to protect them from the storm. 
The soldiers, pressed by a load of burdens that hu- 
man nature could scarcely endure, were on the verge 
of a general mutiny. That physical courage which 
marches to the cannon's mouth with the spirit stir- 
ring strains of martial music, fades into littleness be- 
fore the moral courage which supports the patriot in 
the patient but inglorious endurance of cold, hun- 
ger, poverty and humilialion. An attack upon the 
enemy was prevented by the intelligence that the 
last ration had been served out. Washington's ef- 
fective force was less than three thousand men, and 
many o( them raw and undisciplined militia, little ac- 
customed to those habits of obedience which alone 
render the soldier efficient in the hour of danger. 
Even the most enthusiastic friends to the cause be- 
gan to despair, and a deep gloom pervaded the land, 
from the granite hills of New Hampshire to Georgia. 
The enemy, flushed with victory, regarded the war 
as finished, and proclaimed a pardon to all who 
would submit; and many accepted the terms as the 
only hope of safety. It was surely a time to try 
men's souls. When language, painting and sculpture 
have exhausted their powers, the mind cannot then 
realize the distress and the woe of that dark period 
in our country's history. The widow's prayer, the 
orphan's cry, and the groans of the victims of dis- 



15 

ease, and the prison, are unheard or forgotten amid 
the din of arms, and Iiistory rarely deigns to shed a 
tear to their memory. At this critical period, the 
briUiant and unexpected battles of Trenton and 
Princeton shed a ray of light amid the darkness of 
despair; and the alliance with France reanimated 
the drooping spirits of the men of the revolution. 
Spain followed the example of the court of Ver- 
sailles and offered herself as mediator between the 
colonies and England. The independence of the 
colonies being declared inadmissible by the cabinet in 
London, Spain, without acknowledging their inde- 
pendence, as France had done, commenced hostili- 
ties against Great Britain. But England showed no 
signs of yielding ; and Washington, who knew the 
resources of the Americans, thus expressed his fears 
for the final result. 

"The favorable disposition of Spain, the promised 
succour from France, the combined force in the West 
Indies, the declaration of Russia, (acceded to by the 
other powers of Europe, humiliating the naval pride 
and power of Great Britain) the reciprocity of France 
and Spain by sea in Europe, the Irish claims and 
English disturbances, formed, in the aggregate, an 
opinion in my heart, (which is not very susceptible 
of peaceful dreams) that the hour of deliverance was 
not far distant ; for that, however unwilling Great 
Britain might be to yield the point, it would not be 
in her power to continue the contest. But, alas, 
these prospects, flattering as they were, have proved 
delusive, and I see nothing before us but accumula- 
ting distress. We have been half of the time with- 



16 

out provisions, and are likely to continue so. We 
have no magazines and no money to form them. It 
is in vain, however, to look back, nor is it our busi- 
ness to do so. Our case is not desperate if virtue 
exists in the people and there is wisdom among our 
rulers." 

But new events were taking place in Europe. In 
1780, Kussia, Sweden, and Denmark entered into 
the celebrated compact, called the armed neutrality, 
and war was also commenced between England and 
Holland, one of the first maritime states of Europe. 
When danger threatened the English people, the 
war became unpopular at home ; when Cornwallis 
surrendered at Yorktown, with the flower of the 
British forces, to the combined French and Ameri- 
can armies, George the Third was convinced of the 
impossibility of conquering America, and reluctantly 
acknowledged her independence. Peace, — welcome 
peace, — once more visited our shores. 

The princij)lcs of the Declaration were not dis- 
covered by our ancestors, but to them belongs the 
glory of adopting them as the basis of their political 
system. Their political science was derived from 
the Bible, and its heavenly precepts generally presi- 
ded over their civil administration. The govern- 
ment established on board of the May-flower was 
the model of those that afterwards existed. Vane, 
Sydney, Milton, and Locke, had traced the founda- 
tions of civil government to their true source ; but 
it was reserved for their descendants in another cen- 
tury, and in another hemisphere, to reap what they 
had sown ; to proclaim and successfully maintain. 



17 

amid the clang of arms and the cannon's roar, the 
great truths that all men arc created equal ; that 
they are endowed with inalienable rights, among 
which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi- 
ness; that the people are the source of all power, 
and that governments are institut(^d by their con- 
sent for the common benefit of all. These truths 
met a hearty response from suffering humanity, real- 
izing that sometimes, at least, the voice of the people 
is the voice of God. It was the good fortune of our 
ancestors that they were descended from a nation that 
boasted of its liberty, though imperfect compared 
with that destined to be established here. A re- 
publican government, erected upon the ruins of the 
monarchy, at a great expense of treasure, toil, and 
blood, had failed in England, because the people had 
proved recreant to the great trust confided to them. 
But something was gained. Our ancestors, trained 
in the school of liberty, came here under the most 
auspicious circumstances, and were well accustomed 
to self-government w'hen the revolutionary war com- 
menced. They had left behind, the arbitrary maxims 
of the old world, together with its hereditary orders 
of priests and nobles. Necessity did aw^iy with all 
distinctions but those of talent and worth. These 
circumstances rendered the contest for freedom so 
signally triumphant in this country, as compared 
with the subsequent attempt in France and South 
America. 

In Europe, the doctrines of divine right to rule on 
the part of the sovereign, and the duty of passive 
obedience on the part of the subject, proved too 
3 



18 

strong to be successfully resisted. Religion was the 
handmaid of absolute power; and church and state 
united to oppress mankind. The efforts for the 
rights of conscience and freedom of inquiry, first 
paved the way for political reform. When Martia 
Luther had pointed out, and the reformation had 
corrected, the abuses of the church, attention was 
directed to the abuses of the state. The human 
mind, emancipated from the fetters of ignorance and 
superstition, rapidly advanced in a knowledge of the 
true principles of religious and civil liberty. But the 
mass of the people were still in slavery ; and centu- 
ries were to pass away before the glad tidings should 
be announced to them. Louis the Fourteenth em- 
bodied the principles of governmeni of that age, 
when he said, " 1 am the state." The scorn and 
contempt of the mass and their rights, entertained 
by the exalted few, were expressed by the haughty 
Queen Elizabeth, when she told her parliaments not 
to meddle in state affairs. Even in the reign of 
George the Third, the great Earl of Chatham was 
rebuked for alluding to the voice of the people, in the 
King's Council. Let us not forget in this our day 
of exultation, those men who, in adversity, ke])t alive 
the spark of freedom in the mother land, which was 
destined here to illumine the world with its bright- 
ness. 

Independence being achieved, new and unexpect- 
ed trials called for the exercise of that wisdom and 
moderation so characteristic of our forefathers. The 
government, which had been sufficient during the 
war, was found to be inadequate to support the 



19 

honor and credit of the nation, in a state of peace. 
The States, jealous of each other, paid no attention 
to its requisitions. 

But the most alarming evil was, the reluctance of 
the people to come up to the great work of forming 
a system of government, that should perpetuate the 
fruits of Independence. Erroneous notions of liberty 
prevailed, tending to licentiousness. The laws had 
been imperfectly administered during the war, and 
the people, at its close, were burdened with debts. 
Urged on by pecuniary embarrassments and the ap- 
peals of demagogues, always the j)cople's worst ene- 
mies, they sought relief in open rebellion against the 
laws, and in anarchy. They avowed their ol)ject to 
be the subversion of government, the abolition of 
debts, the division of property, and a reunion with 
Great Britain. This disorderly spirit, says tiie his- 
torian Marshall, was cherished by unlicensed con- 
ventions, which, after voting their order constitu- 
tional, and assuming the name of the people, arrayed 
themselves against the legislatures, and detailed, at 
great length, the grievances by which they alleged 
themselves to be oppressed. The laws were tramp- 
led under foot, the courts of Justice were forcibly 
closed, and all reverence for law in puritan New Eng- 
land was, for a time, lost in the rage of contending 
factions. Arms were resorted to, — blood was shed, 
— and civil war, with all its horrors, threatened to 
effect, what Great Britain, during seven years, had 
failed to accomplish. The glory won in the war of 
Independence was tarnished. The friends of the 
rights of man began to despair, and La Fayette 



20 

wrote, that in Europe, the failure of the grand ex- 
periment of man's power for self-government, com- 
menced under the most favorable auspices, was look- 
ed upon as almost beyond a doubt. Many in this 
country began to wish for and to talk openly of a 
monarchy, as a relief from their present danger, and 
as more endurable than a licentious democracy, where 
life, liberty, and happiness, were at the mercy of 
the pojjulace. This country seemed destined to re- 
volve in the old circle of, first freedom, then anarchy, 
and lastly despotism. Washington and his comrades, 
resting from their labors, saw with dismay the out- 
breaks of popular fury. Conscious of the responsi- 
bility resting upon them, for the issue was to affect 
the welfare of the whole human race, they girded 
themselves to the Herculean task of forming a new 
government upon the ruins of the old. Unless this 
could be done, the price paid for liberty was a mere 
waste of blood and treasure ; the glorious principles 
of the Declaration ' would become a byword and a 
mockery, and mankind would be doomed to count- 
less ce-nturies of oppression. The enemies of free 
institutions already exulted that their predictions 
and their hopes were about to be realized. 

"But virtue did exist in the people, and there was 
wisdom among the rulers." The bow of promise 
again appeared in the political heavens. After a 
most determined and obstinate contest, a Constitution 
wasado})ted, which excited the admiration and envy 
of the world, and has stood the shock of parties and 
the test of time. It is the great charter of our lib- 
erties and the sheet-anchor of our hopes. When 



21 

one jot or tittle of that noble structure shall be 
torn asunder, other than bj the voice of the people, 
formally and legally expressed, there will be an end 
of our liberties. While religion shall sanctify the 
hearts, and education shall (3levate the minds of the 
people, that Constitution shall stand a proud monu- 
ment of the services and wisdom of our ancestors. 
The winds and weaves of partisan fury may dash 
against it, but it shall not fall, for its foundation is 
laid deep in the affections of a free people. 

1 have preferred to call your attention to day to the 
somewhat trite, but, to me, interesting topic of the 
struggle of our forefatliers for Independence, and to 
point out the dangers they encountered, in estab- 
lishing that form of government which it is our duty 
to transmit unimpaired to posterity. 

How vividly does the picture here presented call 
to mind the scenes through which we have just pass- 
ed ! What a striking resemblance in some of the 
rnain features ! Rhode-Island was foremost in the 
ranks of freedom ; and we exult to day in the glory 
of Greene, Barton, Hopkins, and Ellery. Redbank 
and the island of Rhode-Island can bear witness to 
the pallant conduct of the old Rhode-Island line. In 
the war of 1812, she appended the name of the gallant 
Perry, Narragansett born and bred, to her catalogue 
of revolutionary heroes. But her bold stand in fa- 
vor of regulated liberty, the past year, entitles her to 
the gratitude of the whole nation ; and she will cer- 
tainly receive it, when time shall have dispelled the 
mists of political prejudice and feeling. The land of 
Roger Williams has been true, in the hour r^ oeril, 



22 

to those great principles of religious and civil liberty 
for which he suffered persecution and exile. Rliode- 
Island, the last to adopt the Constitution, has, in the 
providence of God, been first called upon to vindi- 
cate its vital principles; and triumphantly has she 
done it. Justice has been tempered with mercy, and 
peace and trancjuiHity have succeeded to the hurried 
gathering of the citizen soldier, and the clang of 
arms. A new government has gone into successful 
operation. Cxrievances there were, and errors; but 
time and public opinion would have corrected them. 
Twelve years did oiu* fathers petilion. 

I allude, more in sorrow than in anger, to the de- 
lusions of the people, that blinded them to their true 
interests, and urged them to light the torch of civil 
war in this happy State, tlie home of practical free- 
dom. So far was this delusion spread, that the war- 
worn veteran of the Revolution, tottering upon the 
brink of the grave, raised his parricidal hand against 
the principles he had fought and bled to establish. 

But the hardy and virtuous cultivators of the soil 
saw the true nature of the contest, and all was well. 
No real grievance can long exist in this country. Let 
the people beware of those who tell them that they 
are enslaved ; for many there are who put on the 
cloak of patriotism wherewith to serve the devil. A 
wise and prudcuit reform is necessary ; but revolution 
is a dangerous remedy, and only to be resorted to in 
extreme cases. 

The great })rinciple at issue here was, that a gov- 
ernment cannot be changed without the forms of 
law ; that a constitution must be amended according 



to its own provisions, solemnly adopted and ratified 
by the people. If a number of men, self-declared to 
be a majority, can assume the name of the people, 
and alter the fundamental laws of the land, constitu- 
tional liberty is but an empty sound, and there is an 
end of all security for life, liberty, and property. We 
should resemble the unhappy states of South Ameri- 
ca, where the people are sacrificed at the altar of 
military despotism. Our boast is, that ours is a gov- 
ernment of law, and that all, both high and low, do 
her reverence. We have learnt by bitter experience 
that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. The 
past is too often a sealed book, and the lantern of 
experience too often sheds its lurid glare upon the 
wrecks of empires behind us, and leaves the ship of 
state to founder amid the shoals of ignorance and 
passion. 

The last year has also taught us the importance of 
well disciplined companies of citizen soldiers ; and the 
lesson has not been disregarded. They serve as a 
school for the education of ofiicers to take command of 
the militia in the hour of danger. No station is more 
honorable than that of the citizen soldier; and a just 
regard for our own interests, as well as our obligations 
to our country, should induce us to submit to that dis- 
cipline which constitutes the soldier's efficiency. Be- 
fore our generation shall be summoned to sleep with 
their fathers, the knowledge that you are gaining, 
fellow^ soldiers, may enable you to defend, succes- 
fully, your country, your liberties, your domestic 
altars, and all that you value upon earth. The men 
conspicuous in the Revolution were formed in the vol- 



24 

unteer corps. Greene, second only to Washington, 
and Varnum, learned the art of war in that time-hon- 
ored corps, the Kentish Guards ; and the memory of 
their brave deeds inspired that company as it stood 
upon Pawtucket Bridge. 

At peace with all the nations of the world, the 
mind becomes dazzled, when it undertakes to picture 
forth the future glory and destiny of this great people 
and country. God grant that this land may remain 
the inheritance of a free and virtuous people, till the 
last trump shall sound, and time be swallowed up in 
eternity. 



. NOTE. 

The allusion to the military companies refers to the Narragansett 
Guards, Col. Whitford, and the Wasliing'ton Grenadiers, Col. Green- 
man, Avho were present in full uniform. After the exercises in the 
church, the two companies, together Avith the citizens, sat down to a 
temperance entertainment, prepared by Phillip Taylor, Esq., which was 
enlivened with speecJies and toasts appropriate to the day. 



